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Tag: beetroot

We picked up some perfect beetroot from the farmer’s market this week, and I was getting bored of just using them in my salads. My goal was to make some delicious red velvet cupcakes using the natural color of the beetroot.

These cupcakes were hot pink before I put them in the oven. When the timer went off, all I could think about was how pretty these were going to turn out. Therefore you can imagine my shock when I saw they lost all the color from the beetroot! What? That was not what I expected, at all.

I found out the baking powder turns the beetroot to a more natural brown color when baking. Fun new fact! Anyway, these still came out delicious and the beetroot purée added to the fluffiness of each little cake.

Serves: 10-12 cupcakes

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened coconut/almond milk

1 tsp white vinegar

1/3 cup maple syrup, or brown rice syrup

1/4 cup melted coconut oil

1/4 cup beetroot, roasted* & puréed

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

¾ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup chopped, fresh strawberries

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F and use a non stick or lightly greased muffin pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together the milk and vinegar. Set this aside for a few minutes.

Add the maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla extract to the milk and beat until foamy. Add beet purée and beat again.

In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Slowly add this to the wet mixture while beating it all together. Continue until no large lumps remain, then fold in strawberries.

Carefully scoop batter into the cupcake holders, filling each holder about 3/4 way full. Bake for about 29-31 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then take them out to cool completely.

Frost them using the crème from my Vegan Strawberry Crème Dark Chocolate Bites. After making the crème, put it in an airtight container in the fridge overnight to let it become more solid and firm. Frost the cupcakes once they are cool. If using this frosting, store the cupcakes in the fridge.

*Notes:

Roasting the beetroot for the purée: Using 1 beetroot, cut the stems. Preheat the oven to 425°F Scrub the beetroot under warm water. Lightly wrap the whole beetroot in aluminum foil and bake for 60 minutes. Take it out and let it cool for a few minutes. Using a paper towel, or your hands, rub the outside of the beetroot. The outside peel should come off very easily, revealing the dark red inside. Slice and put into a food processor or blender. Add 1 lemon, squeezed. Purée!